diff --git a/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.test.tsx b/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.test.tsx
index 1630a66f128..0e38989b2f6 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.test.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.test.tsx
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import type { Agent, ResourceMemberships } from "@paperclipai/shared";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { SidebarAgents } from "./SidebarAgents";
+import { queryKeys } from "../lib/queryKeys";
 import { TooltipProvider } from "@/components/ui/tooltip";
 
 const mockAgentsApi = vi.hoisted(() => ({
@@ -267,6 +268,7 @@ describe("SidebarAgents", () => {
         currentRoot.unmount();
       });
     }
+    vi.useRealTimers();
     queryClient.clear();
     container.remove();
     document.body.innerHTML = "";
@@ -302,6 +304,23 @@ describe("SidebarAgents", () => {
     await flushReact();
   }
 
+  async function renderSidebarAgentsWithFakeTimers() {
+    const currentRoot = createRoot(container);
+    root = currentRoot;
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      currentRoot.render(
+        <QueryClientProvider client={queryClient}>
+          <SidebarAgents streamlined />
+        </QueryClientProvider>,
+      );
+    });
+    await act(async () => {
+      await Promise.resolve();
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(0);
+    });
+  }
+
   async function renderRailSidebarAgents() {
     mockSidebarState.collapsed = true;
     const currentRoot = createRoot(container);
@@ -645,6 +664,49 @@ describe("SidebarAgents", () => {
     expect(seeAllAgentsLink(container)?.getAttribute("href")).toBe("/agents/all");
   });
 
+  it("keeps formerly live agents visible for the streamlined linger window", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ now: new Date("2026-01-01T00:00:00Z") });
+    mockAgentsApi.list.mockResolvedValue([
+      makeAgent({ id: "agent-a", name: "Alpha", urlKey: "alpha" }),
+      makeAgent({ id: "agent-b", name: "Bravo", urlKey: "bravo" }),
+      makeAgent({ id: "agent-c", name: "Charlie", urlKey: "charlie" }),
+      makeAgent({ id: "agent-d", name: "Delta", urlKey: "delta" }),
+    ]);
+    mockHeartbeatsApi.liveRunsForCompany.mockResolvedValue([
+      { id: "run-1", agentId: "agent-a", status: "running" },
+    ]);
+
+    await renderSidebarAgentsWithFakeTimers();
+
+    let labels = agentLinkLabels(container);
+    expect(labels).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(labels[0]).toContain("Alpha");
+    expect(labels[0]).toContain("1 live");
+
+    mockHeartbeatsApi.liveRunsForCompany.mockResolvedValue([]);
+    await act(async () => {
+      queryClient.setQueryData(queryKeys.liveRuns("company-1"), []);
+    });
+    await act(async () => {
+      await Promise.resolve();
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(0);
+    });
+
+    labels = agentLinkLabels(container);
+    expect(labels).toEqual(["Alpha"]);
+    expect(labels.join(" ")).not.toContain("live");
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(120_000);
+    });
+    expect(agentLinkLabels(container)).toEqual(["Alpha"]);
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1);
+    });
+    expect(agentLinkLabels(container)).toEqual(["Alpha", "Bravo", "Charlie"]);
+  });
+
   it("shows up to 3 recently-active agents plus a See all link when none are running", async () => {
     mockAgentsApi.list.mockResolvedValue(
       Array.from({ length: 7 }, (_, index) =>
diff --git a/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.tsx b/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.tsx
index 7e681da39b5..8df41e7419b 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/SidebarAgents.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from "react";
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { Link, useLocation } from "@/lib/router";
 import { useMutation, useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import {
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ import type { Agent } from "@paperclipai/shared";
  * recently-active agents plus a "See all agents" link (IA Phase 5).
  */
 const RECENT_AGENT_LIMIT = 3;
+const LIVE_AGENT_LINGER_MS = 120_000;
 
 const AGENT_SORT_CHOICES: SidebarSectionRadioChoice[] = [
   { value: "top", label: "Top" },
@@ -298,6 +299,8 @@ function SidebarAgentItem({
 export function SidebarAgents({ streamlined = false }: { streamlined?: boolean } = {}) {
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(true);
   const [pendingAgentIds, setPendingAgentIds] = useState<Set<string>>(() => new Set());
+  const [, setLiveLingerVersion] = useState(0);
+  const lastSeenLiveAtRef = useRef<Map<string, number>>(new Map());
   const queryClient = useQueryClient();
   const { selectedCompanyId } = useCompany();
   const { openNewAgent } = useDialogActions();
@@ -354,6 +357,13 @@ export function SidebarAgents({ streamlined = false }: { streamlined?: boolean }
     }
     return counts;
   }, [liveRuns]);
+  const liveAgentIds = useMemo(() => {
+    const ids = new Set<string>();
+    for (const [agentId, count] of liveCountByAgent) {
+      if (count > 0) ids.add(agentId);
+    }
+    return ids;
+  }, [liveCountByAgent]);
 
   const visibleAgents = useMemo(() => {
     const filtered = (agents ?? []).filter(
@@ -384,15 +394,36 @@ export function SidebarAgents({ streamlined = false }: { streamlined?: boolean }
     () => sortAgents(orderedAgents, sortMode),
     [orderedAgents, sortMode],
   );
+  const sortedAgentIdSet = useMemo(
+    () => new Set(sortedAgents.map((agent: Agent) => agent.id)),
+    [sortedAgents],
+  );
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    for (const agentId of liveAgentIds) {
+      lastSeenLiveAtRef.current.set(agentId, now);
+    }
+    for (const agentId of lastSeenLiveAtRef.current.keys()) {
+      if (!sortedAgentIdSet.has(agentId)) {
+        lastSeenLiveAtRef.current.delete(agentId);
+      }
+    }
+  }, [liveAgentIds, sortedAgentIdSet]);
 
   // IA Phase 5 (streamlined): if any agent has a live run, show only those
-  // active agents. Otherwise fall back to up to RECENT_AGENT_LIMIT agents. Either
-  // way a "See all agents" link is shown so the full list is always reachable.
+  // active agents. Agents that just stopped running linger briefly so clustered
+  // run boundaries do not make rows pop out and the section does not immediately
+  // swap to the recent fallback during short all-idle gaps. Otherwise fall back
+  // to up to RECENT_AGENT_LIMIT agents. Either way a "See all agents" link is
+  // shown so the full list is always reachable.
   // Classic mode (PAP-89, flag OFF) restores the show-all behavior.
-  const runningAgents = useMemo(
-    () => sortedAgents.filter((agent: Agent) => (liveCountByAgent.get(agent.id) ?? 0) > 0),
-    [sortedAgents, liveCountByAgent],
-  );
+  const nowForLiveLinger = Date.now();
+  const runningAgents = sortedAgents.filter((agent: Agent) => {
+    if ((liveCountByAgent.get(agent.id) ?? 0) > 0) return true;
+    const lastSeenLiveAt = lastSeenLiveAtRef.current.get(agent.id);
+    return lastSeenLiveAt !== undefined && nowForLiveLinger - lastSeenLiveAt <= LIVE_AGENT_LINGER_MS;
+  });
   const hasActiveAgents = runningAgents.length > 0;
   const displayedAgents = !streamlined
     ? sortedAgents
@@ -437,6 +468,30 @@ export function SidebarAgents({ streamlined = false }: { streamlined?: boolean }
     };
   }, [sortModeStorageKey]);
 
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!streamlined) return;
+
+    const now = Date.now();
+    let nextExpiryAt: number | null = null;
+    for (const agent of sortedAgents) {
+      if ((liveCountByAgent.get(agent.id) ?? 0) > 0) continue;
+      const lastSeenLiveAt = lastSeenLiveAtRef.current.get(agent.id);
+      if (lastSeenLiveAt === undefined) continue;
+      const expiresAt = lastSeenLiveAt + LIVE_AGENT_LINGER_MS;
+      if (expiresAt < now) continue;
+      nextExpiryAt = nextExpiryAt === null ? expiresAt : Math.min(nextExpiryAt, expiresAt);
+    }
+    if (nextExpiryAt === null) return;
+
+    const timeoutId = window.setTimeout(() => {
+      setLiveLingerVersion((version) => version + 1);
+    }, Math.max(0, nextExpiryAt - now + 1));
+
+    return () => {
+      window.clearTimeout(timeoutId);
+    };
+  }, [streamlined, sortedAgents, liveCountByAgent]);
+
   const persistSortMode = useCallback(
     (value: string) => {
       const nextSortMode: AgentSidebarSortMode =
diff --git a/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.test.ts b/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.test.ts
index 422046a52c4..9d13bfe50a0 100644
--- a/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.test.ts
+++ b/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.test.ts
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ describe("LiveUpdatesProvider issue invalidation", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it("keeps heartbeat progress invalidation scoped to live run data", () => {
+  it("keeps heartbeat progress invalidation scoped away from hot list queries", () => {
     const invalidations: unknown[] = [];
     const queryClient = {
       invalidateQueries: (input: unknown) => {
@@ -117,21 +117,21 @@ describe("LiveUpdatesProvider issue invalidation", () => {
       },
     );
 
-    expect(invalidations).toContainEqual({
-      queryKey: queryKeys.liveRuns("company-1"),
-    });
-    expect(invalidations).toContainEqual({
-      queryKey: queryKeys.heartbeats("company-1"),
-    });
-    expect(invalidations).toContainEqual({
-      queryKey: queryKeys.agents.list("company-1"),
-    });
     expect(invalidations).toContainEqual({
       queryKey: queryKeys.agents.detail("agent-1"),
     });
-    expect(invalidations).toContainEqual({
+    expect(invalidations).not.toContainEqual({
+      queryKey: queryKeys.liveRuns("company-1"),
+    });
+    expect(invalidations).not.toContainEqual({
+      queryKey: queryKeys.heartbeats("company-1"),
+    });
+    expect(invalidations).not.toContainEqual({
       queryKey: queryKeys.heartbeats("company-1", "agent-1"),
     });
+    expect(invalidations).not.toContainEqual({
+      queryKey: queryKeys.agents.list("company-1"),
+    });
     expect(invalidations).not.toContainEqual({
       queryKey: queryKeys.dashboard("company-1"),
     });
diff --git a/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.tsx b/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.tsx
index cef24b1f13f..19eb9ce7f75 100644
--- a/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/context/LiveUpdatesProvider.tsx
@@ -817,17 +817,12 @@ function invalidateHeartbeatQueries(
 
 function invalidateHeartbeatProgressQueries(
   queryClient: ReturnType<typeof useQueryClient>,
-  companyId: string,
+  _companyId: string,
   payload: Record<string, unknown>,
 ) {
-  queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: queryKeys.liveRuns(companyId) });
-  queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: queryKeys.heartbeats(companyId) });
-  queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: queryKeys.agents.list(companyId) });
-
   const agentId = readString(payload.agentId);
   if (agentId) {
     queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: queryKeys.agents.detail(agentId) });
-    queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: queryKeys.heartbeats(companyId, agentId) });
   }
 }